There is No Pretending
by bookloverkat
Summary: Tears hung in Clary's eyelashes like stars as she darted up the stairs, desperate to get away from her family. Her head pounded, the words selfish and bitch rang in her ears and bounced around endlessly, who knew words could hurt just as bad as a slap to the face? - Clary wants to be anywhere but where she is now, but can Jace bring her into the light? AU/AH CLACE
1. Chapter 1

Tears hung in Clary's eyelashes like stars as she darted up the stairs, desperate to get away from her family. Her head pounded, the words _selfish_ and _bitch_ rang in her ears and bounced around endlessly, who knew words could hurt just as bad as a slap to the face? When Clary finally reached her room, she locked the door and collapsed onto her bed. She tried to keep her tears away, knowing that her family would be able to hear her cries from a floor below. Clary's face crumpled with anguish when she wondered: _Do I deserve to feel this way?_

She remembered Jon's eyes, and how they were teaming with disgust. Clary's hands trembled as she reached to push her hair out of her face. She just wanted to be left alone, to curl up in her dark room and just… disappear.

PAGE BREAK

Jace walked into St. Francis Xavier High School alongside his brother and sister. Well, his adoptive brother and sister, anybody with two working eyes would be able to tell that Jace was not related to the Lightwoods. The three of them were unfairly beautiful, that they could be considered angelic. Jace was all gold, from his hair and eyes, to his skin. (Which somehow miraculously stayed a warm honey color throughout the whole year.) The Lightwoods on the other hand, Alec and Isabelle, had ebony hair. While Isabelle had brown eyes, Alec had piercing blue ones that seemed to seep deep into your soul.

"Jace," Alec said. "We need to go to the office, remember?" Jace had gotten distracted and started to wander down a hallway. Alec had never seen Jace so captivated by something. Maybe someone? Alec was just about ready to drag Jace by the arm when finally, Jace shook his head and returned to his brother.

"What was that?" Isabelle queried. She had a slight smirk dancing across her lips, as if she new the answer to her question. Jace's lips quirked and an eyebrow arched. His demeanor suddenly different.

"I saw this girl," Jace started. Alec rolled his eyes. "She had fiery red hair, and emerald green eyes, she was…" Pretty? No, that was too simple of a word to describe her. "Breathtaking."

PAGE BREAK

Clary shut her locker and turned to her best friend Simon. Clary had not yet told Simon about how she felt last night, even though it was obvious to Simon that something was wrong. Clary put her hand on Simon's shoulder, about to say something, but her attention was stolen. A boy seeming to be made of gold stood at the mouth of the hallway. He was easily the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and left her fingers aching just to draw him. Their eyes held each other for a brief moment before the angelic boy turned and left.

"Clary? What's going on?" Simon asked, looking over his shoulder, trying to catch whatever it was that had Clary so deeply captivated. Clary blushed, and looked back at her friend, suddenly pulled back into reality. Back to how she felt, back to her problems.

"I'll tell you later, at lunch. I need to get to class," Clary said, and delivered a kiss to Simon's cheek. A friendly gesture that made Simon's heart beat twice as fast. And then she was gone, down the hallway, leaving Simon to wonder what the hell had gotten into his best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**SO SORRY you guys for not updating in forever...you know...life. I promise that I'll try to post more chapters soon!**

Clary let out a hitched breath as she practically fell into the chair of her desk. Everytime she blinked, she saw the golden boy. They hadn't even said a single word to each other, yet she felt a connection like no other when their gazes had met in the hallway. For a minute, she was able to forget what had happened at home the night before. She had been barely able to make it out her bedroom door before Jon had bombarded her with apologies. Clary had just kept on walking; sometimes she found it easier to ignore your problems rather than face them right then and there. And that's exactly what she did, it made it easier to not feel.

Her attention was pulled away from thoughts of the night before when the boy from the hallway waltzed into the room with the dark haired boy he was with from the hallway right behind him. The two made their way to the back of the room where two empty seats next to Clary were left. When they sat down, Clary tried her best not to stare. The other students at St. Xavier's had _nothing_ on these two.

"C'mon Alec, you trust me don't you?" The blond haired boy said with a smirk. His eye flashed with mischief. The dark haired boy, Alec rolled his eyes defiantly, and turned away from him.

"Just because I'm your brother, Jace, doesn't mean I approve of everything you do," Alec said matter of factly. He pulled his sleeves over his hands and stuck his fingers through one of the holes. Clary didn't usually eavesdrop, but she couldn't help but be confused; they didn't look like brothers. Hell, they didn't even seem remotely related. Clary turned to steal a glance at the unlikely brothers, and found a golden pair of eyes challenging her own. Her first instinct was to look away, but something held her there, she was practically paralyzed under Jace's stare.

"I know I'm undeniably good looking, but it's rude to stare," Jace coyly said, leaning closer toward Clary. Clary felt the blood rush up to her cheeks as she started to turn to face the front of the classroom. She felt a warm hand touch her arm. "Hey," Slowly, she looked from the tanned arm up to Jace's face. "What's your name?" Jace asks, his tone significantly different, like he was telling a secret.

"Clary," She said, her voice coming out quieter than she meant it to.

"Clary," he repeated, she swore she saw a smile quirking one of his lips. She couldn't deny that she liked the way her name sounded rolling off his lips. "I like that name. I'm Jace, and this is my _traitor_ brother, Alec." Jace tossed his head back when he mentioned his brother, as if trying to get his point. His lips parted as if he was going to say something more, but the bell signaling class had officially started sent out a shrill. Clary didn't hear what the teacher said after that, she had her mind on other more….important things.


End file.
